This one pan creamy gnocchi with sausage recipe is an easy, quick, and incredibly delicious comfort food meal. Ready in 30 minutes!
It’s time for another simple gnocchi recipe! My creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi recipe has been doing really well (it is delicious), so I made a creamy tomato gnocchi recipe recently as well.
Those two recipes are vegetarian, so I decided to make one for the meat lovers out there.
I’m super excited about this one too!
What kind of gnocchi to use?
I buy the shelf-stable potato gnocchi found in the pasta aisle of most major grocery stores.
Like the other gnocchi recipes, this Italian sausage gnocchi is a one pan wonder as well. No need to boil the gnocchi in a separate pan because it all cooks in the sauce.
Fewer dishes!
And this sauce is lip-smackingly good. It’s tomato-based, creamy, garlicky, and the pieces of Italian sausage take the flavor to the next level. Total comfort food.
You know me… I love me some creamy sauces every now and then. 😉
Pro tip: If you can’t use white wine for whatever reason, try replacing it with chicken broth + 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
Have you tried my Sausage, Kale, and Gnocchi Soup or my Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup?
This creamy gnocchi recipe has received a lot of love since I first posted it – one sweet reader said: “This was fantastic and my family loved it!”
More one-pan gnocchi recipes you may like:
- Chicken Bacon Gnocchi
- Ground Beef Gnocchi
- Spinach and Artichoke Gnocchi
- 15 Minute Creamy Alfredo Gnocchi
- One Pan Gnocchi alla Vodka
- 15 Minute One Pan Creamy Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Gnocchi
Hope you love this easy gnocchi recipe!
Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask.
One Pan Creamy Gnocchi with Sausage
This one pan creamy gnocchi with sausage recipe is an easy, quick, and incredibly delicious comfort food meal. Ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 8.8 ounces Italian sausages (cut into bite-size pieces) see recipe notes
- 1/2 small onion chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup dry white wine (e.g. sauvignon blanc)
- 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Handful fresh basil torn
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Prep your sausage and onion. Feel free to take the sausage meat out of the casing if that's easier than cutting it.
- Sauté the sausage pieces and onion in a skillet on on medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the sausage and onions are lightly browned.
- Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add the wine and let it cook for about a minute.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, cream, and gnocchi. Once the sauce starts to bubble again, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Uncover the pan, give it a good stir, and let it cook for another few minutes, or until the gnocchi has cooked through and is nice and soft and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese, basil, and salt & pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- There is no need to pre-cook the gnocchi. It'll cook right in the sauce.
- I bought a pack of 5 mild Italian sausages (Johnsonville brand) and used half of it for this recipe. Anything around the 8-10 ounce or so mark would work. Feel free to substitute with spicy Italian or another similar variety of sausage.
Karen says
I don’t have any white wine only white cooking wine. Can I use the cooking wine or what can I use for replscement?
Natasha says
Hi! I think that should be fine. It may be a little more salty, but if you’ve used it in sauces before, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You could always sub with the equivalent amount of chicken or beef broth if you wanted.
Donna says
This was fantastic. Made it tonight for my very discriminating Italian dad who loved it and asked for the recipe. When he asks for a recipe, you know it’s terrific. Added spinach and some kale in the sauce for additional color. This one’s a keeper. Love that it’s one pot! Thank you.
Natasha says
Wow… that is awesome!! Thanks so much for letting me know!
Gina Tipton says
I must say this was amazing! I did use an entire package (18 ounce) of sweet Italian sausage. It was just right! No other additions or substitutions. This recipe is a keeper!
Natasha says
Great!! So glad you like the recipe… and you really can’t go wrong with more sausage! 😉
Karissa says
This is literally my new favorite meal! It is so simple but tastes like it took all day to make <3
Natasha says
Aww that’s great! So happy you liked it, Karissa! 🙂
Greg Stark says
I used tomatoe basil Italian sausage from my butcher, he makes the fresh daily. However because my wife is allergic to dairy I used unsweetened soy milk and Dsiya mozzarella rice cheese. While the cause does not thicken like using whole milk or heavy cream and real cheese, this is probably lower in calories, and we can all enjoy the say meal.
Over the past 12 years I have become quite adapt at taking recipies and making them allergy safe.
Natasha says
Sounds good to me, Greg! 🙂
Michael Whaley says
For the gnocchi first timers – potato gnocchi is available in the frozen foods case at your grocery.
That’s what I use.
Have not made this, but I will!
Cheryl says
I love this recipe! It is super easy to make and I can have a “fancy” and delicious dinner on the table in less than half an hour! I left out the sausage to make it vegetarian and it was still amazing 🙂
Natasha says
Aww so glad you liked it!
Emily says
Wow! My first time cooking gnocchi and you made it so simple! This recipe is BEYOND easy, so so so delicious and every one was very impressed. I’ve used online recipes almost nightly for the last few years, and this is the first time I’ve ever commented on a recipe…that’s how good it is! Thank you so much for putting this together. I’m definitely going to check out some of your other recipes x
Natasha says
Awww I am so glad that you liked it and found it easy! 🙂 Appreciate you leaving a comment… it really helps us bloggers out.
Dennis says
Fantastic! I made this last week and it was a big hit. I will be making this again tonight to take over to my parents!
Natasha says
Wonderful! 🙂
Raeanne says
Love love love! Just made this for dinner. Thank you!!!
Natasha says
So glad you liked it! 🙂
Robin says
Making this next week. Should I double to feed 6 people and can frozen gnocchi be used?
Natasha says
Sure, doubling it is prob a good idea. Haven’t tried frozen gnocchi. You may want to cook it at a slightly lower heat when you add it to the pan. Or at least check on it to make sure the sauce isn’t burning while the gnocchi is still solid. It may take a little longer.
Jen says
Could you substitute the heavy cream for full fat coconut milk?
Natasha says
Hi Jen! Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t tested it. The coconut flavor may be a little odd, and it may end up fairly greasy. With that said, if you decide to give it a try, please let me/other readers know how it went! 🙂
Jen says
I did it! I used full fat coconut milk 1:1 it turned out amazing! I cooked my gnocchi separately because I used a gf version and added about a cup of spinach! Thank you for this recipe.
Natasha says
Awesome!! Thanks for letting me know, Jen!
Amber says
This is one of my families absolute favorite recipes!!! The only thing we change is we sub out the italian sausage for chorizo!! Mhmmm. It is so good! I double the recipe each time we make it and it’s always delicious thanks so much for posting this!!!
**Also I hand make my gnocchi!
Natasha says
Love the chorizo idea!! ♥️♥️
Jasmine says
Try ripple half and half it substitutes well for dairy cream.
Rebecca Semenick says
I made this tonight, and it was delicious! Quick and easy, too. I like the idea of adding mushrooms. I’ll try that next time, as I’m definitely making this again!
Natasha says
Glad you liked it, Rebecca! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Michael Tebrinke says
Is there a way to substitute tomato paste or sause for the diced tomatoes? My son likes the tomato taste but not the texture of tomatoes.
Thanks!
Michael
Natasha says
Tomato paste is very concentrated. I’d buy a can of tomato sauce and see how it goes 🙂
ALISHA MENEELY says
I’m soooooo bummed I tried this tonight and it was so soupy. I also used cauliflower gnocchi and it came out total mush! I will try and with regular gnocchi. Have to order a pizza!! Ugh!
Natasha says
Oh man that sucks! Sorry to hear it. 😭
Ellie says
My first time making gnocchi! I thought this recipe was absolutely delicious, and easy to make too! I doubled the recipe, used a little less heavy cream, and substituted fresh basil for basil paste and it still turned out wonderfully. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Natasha says
So glad you liked it! You’re very welcome.
JoyDee McCorkle says
This is fabulous and different. We have an Italian Night every year and we’re assigned one of the following … antipasto, salad, entree and dessert. The hostess provides the bread. I’m up mnext and cannot wait to show off with this. THANK YOU!!!!
Natasha says
You are very welcome!! I love that idea and I hope it goes over well. 🙂
Liz says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was great! My husband doesn’t care for cooked tomatoes so I just puréed the can of tomatoes before adding it; it still turned out amazing!
Natasha says
So pleased to hear it worked out! 🙂
Kate says
This looks fabulous! My husband works nights and has to reheat EVERY dinner.. I know gnocchi doesn’t always reheat well. How does this do as a leftover? Any tips or tricks to make it travel and reheat better?
Natasha says
Hi Kate! I’d say reheat it on a low heat on the stove. Creamy sauces can separate a bit in the microwave, I find.
Tara says
Made this last night and it’s a keeper. I added kale but otherwise made it exactly as written. Thanks for sharing!
Tara says
Forgot to leave 5*!
Natasha says
Thanks so much 🙂 I appreciate it!
Nicole says
Delicious!!
Alex says
Loved it, I added mushrooms, onion powder and garlic powder. My dad had seconds!
Natasha says
Excellent!! Thanks for letting me know, Alex 🙂
Lauren says
We made this last night and it instantly became one of our favorites! It was quick, easy and delicious!
Natasha says
I am so pleased to hear that! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Carol says
Do you use uncooked sausage? And you cook it with the casing, which always seems tough to me. I just don’t think I’ve ever seen 8oz pkg Italian sausage so sure wish you’d take a photo or give an exact name of the product. Is it fresh or frozen?
Natasha says
Hi Carol! Yes, I used uncooked sausage. You can definitely take it out of the casing… I usually end up doing that too. Do you live in the USA or Canada? I use the Johnsonville brand. I am pretty sure they’re shipped frozen, but I always used it thawed. Here’s a link to what I use: https://www.johnsonville.com/products/mild-italian-links.html 🙂 I just went back to my recipe notes, and I used half a pack of the Johnsonville sausages (so 250g or 8.8 ounces). I will update the recipe to make it more clear – my apologies and thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Joy Cunningham says
Can I slow cooker this recipe.
Natasha says
Hi Joy! It’s a really quick stove top recipe, so I don’t recommend it. I think that the gnocchi may get rubbery, the sauce would probably become gloopy from the starch if you cook it for hours, and you’d have to brown the sausage anyway, so dirtying up a Crockpot would just add another unnecessary step. If you wanted to cook it the usual way and keep it warm in the Crockpot to serve a bit later, that would probably be fine, though.
Anita says
This tastes amazing. My family loved it!
Natasha says
Soo happy to hear it!!
Kat says
This recipe is absolutely amazing!
As soon as we tried this, we *loved* all the spicy creaminess this has to offer; it’s *so* much better than boring marinara flavor of lots of Italian sauces. We had never made anything with gnocchi, but we have sought out other recipes that include these “bouncy potatoes” (my husband’s nickname for gnocchi) thanks to this dish.
This quickly became one of our favorite recipes and is now in our regular rotation–I can’t even count how many times we’ve made it over the past year! Thanks so much for creating and sharing this!
Natasha says
Aww thank you for taking the time to leave this sweet comment! Bouncy potatoes lol love it. So happy this recipe is a regular for you!!
Vincent F Congemi says
As far as substitute for using regular pasta is the cook it to a few under al dente and finish in the sauce. This way the pasta will get a chance to soak up the sauce as it finishes cooking. . Maybe add a few spoons of the starchy pasta water.
Natasha says
Yes!
WENDY GOLDNER says
I’m going to try this tonight with Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi and see how it goes!
Natasha says
Hope you like it, Wendy! 🙂
Merrilee says
I would love to know how it turned out with the cauliflower gnocchi. Was considering trying that tonight!
Michelle says
This was crazy easy and so delicious with hot Italian sausage, my family all loved it! Thank you so much for a tasty and easy weeeknight recipe!
Natasha says
That’s great, Michelle!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Nova says
It’s very tasty but next time I will cook the gnocchi separate. I make my own gnocchi and cooking it with the sausage and sauce turned them into a gluggy mess. Live and learn.
Natasha says
Hmm that’s a shame! Good to know that this method works best with the store-bough gnocchi. Glad you liked the taste at least!
Sandy says
Really, really good. I used sweet Italian and will try it next with hot Italian. I doubled the Parmesan cheese 🙂
Natasha says
So pleased you liked it!!
Elizabeth Hooven says
This was sooooo good! I doubled the sausage using Italian style chicken sausage and doubled the onions. It was even a hit with my 16 year old son and he is SUPER picky! Definitely a winner and new addition to the recipe book!
Natasha says
I like your style haha. So glad even your son liked it! 🙂
Shelley anderson says
Have you ever made this in a crockpot?
Natasha says
I haven’t. I’m concerned the cream sauce might separate.
Sherri says
This is delicious! I used sweet Italian sausage. I want to try it with rotisserie chicken soon.
Natasha says
Wonderful! Using rotisserie chicken in here is a great idea!
Jessica says
Would frozen gnocchi work to cook in the sauce as well? Or would you cook separately and then cover in the sauce?
Natasha says
I think frozen gnocchi should work fine, you just may need to cook it for a little longer. I’d probably reduce the heat a tad and cook it for a few more minutes.
Melissa Stanton says
This was beyond fabulous! And it was truly easy and all in one pan!
Natasha says
Yay! That’s great to hear. 🙂
Julie F. says
This was easy and delicious! Will become part of our regular rotation. Thank you!
Natasha says
Excellent! So pleased to hear that, Julie!
Ruth says
I made this dish last night, and it was fabulous! The only thing I changed was I added some mushrooms. But sauce perfect, as was everything else, AND I shared to my FB list. Many thanks
Natasha says
Wonderful! So happy you liked it. Thanks for sharing. And I love mushrooms so that addition sounds fab!
Amber says
One of my families favorites. We use chorizo instead of italian sausage. Tastes delicious!! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Natasha says
I love chorizo… that’s a great idea!
Bob Swensen says
Fantastic, I added mushrooms and spinach. Changed nothing else. The flavors melted together well, next time I’ll try adding some crushed red pepper.
Natasha says
So glad you liked it, Bob! Those sound like tasty additions!
Izz Addison says
Do you think I could substitute the cream for creme fraiche?
Natasha says
Hi! I can’t say for sure what the results would be, but you could give it a try.
Meghan says
This may be a silly question, but do you use boxed gnocchi or fresh? Also, can a dense pasta such as gemelli be substituted if gnocchi is unavailable? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Natasha says
Hi Meghan! Not a dumb question at all. I buy the gnocchi that’s found in your standard pasta aisle in a grocery store. It’s usually packaged in those see-through containers. If you can get your hands on fresh gnocchi, then even better! I’m not sure I’d do gemelli unless you cook it separately first. Reason being, the gnocchi is made of potatoes and tends to release quite a bit of starch while still cooking really quickly. Pasta will too, but I’m not confident that the one pan method will work without adding extra fluids (and that requires some testing vs. me just guessing). Hope this helps and that you enjoy the recipe!
Lisa says
This was so good and everyone in the family loved it! Rich and delicious. Definitely comfort food. Can I substitute milk for the whipping cream?
Natasha says
Hi Lisa! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it. You could try substituting milk in, but the sauce may be quite a bit more watery and less creamy. You may need to adjust cooking time accordingly to let it cook down a bit more and thicken up. Maybe try half-and-half instead? Or experiment and let me know how it goes haha.
Jenna says
They don’t sell gnocchi in my town’s grocery store. Could I substitute for regular pasta? Just wondering how the cooking time would change… Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi Jenna! Gnocchi is made from potatoes so it’s really quite different than regular pasta. I would have to do some testing to figure out how a one pan meal like this would work with regular pasta (I’d probably have to add more liquid). Maybe cook the pasta separately and just make the creamy sausage sauce?
Dawn says
Can you substitute for the white wine?
Natasha says
I would either skip it entirely or use chicken broth in its place.
Tammy says
I just used red wine and perfect!
Natasha says
So happy you liked it, Tammy!!
Gez says
Cooked the gnocchi and sausage using spicy Italian sausage form my amazing local deli soooo good it was amazing thanks for the recipe
Natasha says
Yay!! So happy you liked it.
Thato says
Just got done and it’s amazing!
Natasha says
Thanks for letting me know! So glad to hear it.
Lori says
This was fantastic and my family loved it!
Recipe is easy to double. I added a little Worcestershire sauce and that’s all I changed.
Natasha says
Excellent!! So please everyone loved it. And Worcestershire sauce is a great addition.
Jamie says
Easy and delicious!!! Thanks for this keeper!
Natasha says
So glad you liked it, Jamie!! 🙂
Ana says
So simply to make and delicious. Doing this recipe again.
Natasha says
Thanks, Ana! So pleased you like it!
amy says
The flavors you’ve packed into this dish look and sound amazing! I love your photography style. You really make me want to try everything I see on your website 🙂
Natasha says
Aw thanks so much, Amy!!